February 22, 2012

I am not posting until today because I didn't actually roast the vegetables until this morning before school so that they would be super fresh.

The menu:
Roasted broccoli and cauliflower
Brown rice cooked in vegetable broth
Kiwis

Roasted broccoli and cauliflower:

• large pieces of vegetables
• olive oil
• salt
• lemon
• Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 425.  Toss the veggies with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt.  Put them in the oven.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes (depends on the size, so check on them).  They will start to brown and caramelize on the edges.  Take them from the oven and squeeze some lemon juice on them (I used half a lemon).  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

I chose to make roasted veggies for the kids because it brings out the sweetness of any vegetable.  We eat all kinds of roasted vegetables at our house.  I  made roasted cabbage wedges last night!  I really think that roasting veggies is a great way to get kids to try new things because the vegetables are sweeter and I always add a little cheese too.  There are no rules for roasting and you can be really creative.  At home, I add whole garlic cloves but I wasn't sure that the kids would like it so I omitted it for school lunch.  I also add basil or other fresh herbs sometimes.  I find that fresh basil is good with broccoli and cauliflower.  Fresh rosemary, thyme, and/or sage are great with root vegetables such as potatoes, turnips, and rutabagas.  This is a very simple way to make veggies and requires very little other than cutting the vegetables.

Kale takes about 10 minutes
Broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, beans, and cabbage take anywhere from 20-30 minutes
Root veggies take anywhere from 40-60 minutes

Here are some pics of the awesome eaters:

Atom is HILARIOUS in this picture!